How to Create Your Own Disc Golf Course

Disc golf is a fun, relaxing way to exercise outdoors and enjoy the company of others. In order to play disc golf you need a course. Traditional disc golf courses are usually found in parks and have permanent targets that are specially designed to catch discs. If you don't live near a disc golf course or are tired of playing your local disc golf course, you can follow these simple directions to create your own course.

The first thing you should do is find an area of open space where you can walk around and throw discs. Possible areas for creating new courses include college campuses, parks, forests, neighborhoods, or other open spaces. Make sure the area you choose is a space you are allowed to use. Don't pick a site where you would be trespassing. Also, you should consider how disruptive flying discs would be. Don't pick an area that has a lot of foot or motor vehicle traffic.

The next step is to survey the area for items that could serve as potential targets. Good targets are ones that can take a hit from a disc without being damaged. Some possibilities include trees, road signs, park benches, statues, metal sun dials, the college blue light emergency poles, brick walls, sporting equipment like soccer goals or baseball back stops, sturdy bushes, bike racks, picnic tables, most metal objects, and some sturdy doors. Use your creativity and good judgement when identifying possible targets.

When picking targets make sure you consider the area around and near your targets. Don't pick a target that has fragile items like lights or windows near it that might break when hit by a stray disc. Also, think about areas near potential targets where discs could get stuck or lost like drains, ponds, or heavy underbrush. If you don't want to go swimming to get your disc after an errant throw, then don't pick a target near a pond.

Once you have identified possible targets which are safe to throw at, its time to design your course. For each target you will need to find a tee off point. This is the point where you start throwing your disc towards the target. You want a place that will be easy to remember. For example, you could start where a sidewalk and a road meet or at the corner of a picnic pavilion. You want to consider how many throws it will take you to reach the target. The more throws it is going to take, the more challenging the hole. The tee off point should be far enough away from the target to give you just the right amount of challenge.

When setting the tee off point you will also want to consider possible obstacles. For example, to make a hole more challenging, consider putting the tee off point on the other side of a building from the target. You might also consider putting curves or ninety degree turns into your course. Use elevation as another possible opportunity for adding difficulty.

When laying out your course, try to make the tee off point for the next target close to the previous target in your course. That will help to cut down on extra walking and allow you to spend more time playing. Once you have determined a tee off point for a target you have created a hole on your disc golf course. You can create as many or as few holes as you want depending on how long you want to play and the number of good targets you have. Remember to take what ever the course terrain offers and use your own creativity to make each hole as exciting or as boring as you want. The best part about creating your own disc golf course is that you can change it at any time. If you find parts of it that you are unhappy with or you get tired of playing the same course, you just change it.

The last step in creating your disc golf course is to enjoy your hard work by going out and playing your course.